Keeping the Power Flowing Efficiently with Less Pollution
One of the most pressing issues facing society is to provide affordable, environmentally safe energy. Energy consumption has been increasing steadily due to industrial requirements and an increase in living standards. Contemporary life depends more and more on the consumption of electrical energy, for both work and leisure. Available energy resources with low-adverse environmental impact are growing scarcer. The addition of new electric plant and transmission lines is becoming more difficult because of economic and environmental considerations. These constraints, together with the increasing demand, mean that new solutions must be found to improve the efficiency of the equipment connected to the power grid, particularly the power electronic converters now widely used as interfaces between the grid and most industrial equipment. Energy pollution and interference created by the extensive use of these power electronic converters could create obstacles to further development in the future.
Dr. Kamal Al-Haddad has gained extensive experience in designing and developing advanced energy conversion systems, including high efficiency, soft switching converters and high frequency power supplies for telecommunications, induction heating for manufacturing facilities, and other various industrial applications. As Canada Research Chair in Electric Energy Conversion - Power Electronics, Dr. Al-Haddad will focus on three key sectors: energy efficiency and electric power quality in electrical distribution networks; power supply sources for telecommunications systems; and electric traction systems for passenger transport.
In addition to conducting fundamental and applied research to develop new technologies, Dr. Al-Haddad will train personnel with the aim of transferring them and the technology to industry. Dr. Al-Haddad and his Group on Power Electronics and Industrial Control have worked closely with industry in the past. He will continue to build alliances with industrial sectors that can provide the synergies necessary to transfer the results of his research into practical use to meet the growing demand for new energy sources.